My Wondering Mind

I have been thinking about what a home is to those who are less fortunate than most. There were some saddening thoughts which presented themselves. One might think that a family who comes from a disheartening, poverty ridden environment would want a traditional style home. I asked myself why: And I concluded that perhaps its because it is what they are most familiar with and exposed to through daily travel or TV or magazines. They see the cute little house with the picket fence and just daydream of having something better one day (that is unless, their spirit has been completely broken). They might consider this recurring image of a home as a luxury. And I considered why: The home serves as stability. I imagined what it must be like to live in an environment where some of the appliances don't work, or maybe there is masking tape over a broken window, or if there was only heat/air-conditioning in some of the rooms, or if there were rodents and pests which invaded your space and caused destruction to the place you call home, or if the floors were not fully intact or uneven or not level, or if your bathing area was sub-standard and the room in your are supposed to feel clean and refreshed left you with a sense of disgust instead. These may be extreme thoughts but there are many who live in those conditions for their entire lifetime. The psychological effect this might have on a person is beyond my imagination. I would think that it leaves one feeling continually uneasy, never being able to relax knowing that something may break or colapse at any time and still you must work to survive in this environment. Or worse, knowing that you must raise a family in these conditions.
A profound realization about why I have chosen the field of architecture occurred within me. I want to create an environment which builds self confidence, integrity and identity. People who live in these conditions are oppressed by them. They don't chose these environments and therefore, they are unable to completely embrace an identity which is their own. They see what they relate to normality and yet they are independently not capable of attaining it. I would like to improve the livelihood of a family who may suffer from some of these living conditions. I would like to help design/build a home of which one can be proud and relax. And one which encourages personal/family growth with comfortable amenities among a welcoming community.
We are all part of a community of human beings. And it is our responsibilty to be proactive in improving lives all around us. We all have unique talents and skills. What are they worth if we don't share them to improve life.

Black Monday

I got an email from Ken Taylor. He's my Habitat for Humanity contact for IRS forms and documentation of Proof Of Exemption status as a non-profit charitable organization. I need to get a copy of Habitat for Humanity's IRS Form 990 and IRS 501(c)3 Authorization Permit, in order to send in the grant applications for those grants we are targeting. I spent many hours researching of any grants that might be available to our organization. At first, it was a struggle and I was not turning-up anything in the way of potential funding for our project. There were so many of which we had missed the deadline, or we did not qualify for one reason or another. Then things began to take a turn for the better. I found 8 grants for which we qualified and deadlines were not an issue. In getting all the information together to begin the application process, I found that they required IRS proof of status as a charitable organization which is tax exempt. I discovered that HabiTech10 was not able to file under the schools Tax ID number and Status because we are not an established student organization (each 5th year class designs a different project and is independent as a student organization from previous classes).
Unfortunately, the email informed me that Ken has searched all documentation given to him by his predecessor, and there is no IRS Form 990 nor the IRS 501(c)3 Authorization Permit. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the forms had ever be filed by the Ruston chapter of Habitat for Humanity. I'm not sure has that can be, but none-the-less that's the status I've been given. He did inform me that he would take all steps toward finding out if the chapter would be considered under the International organizations exemption. No one ever filed a Form 990 or Tax Exemption 501(c)3. He said he would begin to file an IRS Form 990. He expressed that he assumed it would take several weeks to get a reply from the IRS.....GO FIGURE!
So, it's the waiting game until I hear back from Ken and hope dearly that we don't fail to meet the application deadlines due to this obstacle!

Itterations of Schematic Layout

These are some sketches.

Schematic Site Design

Looking at site conditions and formulating schematic parti diagrams gives the design process a starting point which takes advantage of the site pros and avoids the site cons. It provides a general layout which later can be developed based on which diagram is most practical for the design goals we wish to accomplish.